I thought I'd be writing about Barry Zito forever, but forever is a mighty long time. I was the last guy writing at the Barry Zito Forever blog and thought it fitting to write with that handle on Athletics Nation. It was happy and sad for me to see him pitch a couple more times on the A's this year. He's done...and I'm getting a little old to go figure out who is going to be my new favorite player, maybe that was a young man's folly. First it was Rod Carew, then Kirby Puckett, then Tony Gwynn, then Barry Zito. Now who? I probably need a favorite player, RA Dickey is a fairly compelling choice for me, as is Yoenis Cespedes. Hitler loves those monster jacks and so do I.

Here is a theory I am working on: "Greatness is user independent." There are absolutes. You can like "dogs playing poker" better than Starry Night if you want to but Starry Night is better and that greatness is user independent.

I thought Barry pitched in a manner which was batter independent. If he was on, he was on, and he would beat everyone. If he was off, any team would light him up. I think that quality is awesome and a sign of greatness, the only thing he had to do was execute his way and the batters would fall down swinging at his hook. He was playing against himself. Many times I watched Barry throw a curveball to a batter with 2 strikes and watch him sorta walk off the mound as he released it. It was perfect and he knew the batter was already out. Time and space are variables, and sometimes great ballplayers can see just a little into the future.

When Barry signed with the Giants I hated it, Fuck the Giants. They are a good team, and they aren't my team. For 7 years the only thing I liked about the Giants was Barry Zito. And he was not very good on the Giants. He struggled...And then with their playoff lives on the line, as if to say "help me Obi Won you are my only hope" Bochy gave Barry the ball in game 5 in the 2012 NLCS against the Cardinals down 3-1. I remember Joe Buck and Tim McCarver commenting on the slowness of his fastball repeatedly and harping about how he was not long for the game. Damn Cardinals announcers! And he fucking dominated them, with the season hanging in the balance.

Then Bochy, channeling Neo in the Matrix, started Zito game 1 of the WS. Seeing the bullets in real time. He was virtually a sacrificial lamb against Verlander. Not only did Zito beat Verlander, he got a hit off him!! Preposterous, you couldn't make this up. Zito turned years of disappointment on the Giants into a World Series Championship, not quite single handedly, but almost. That's my guy, user independent and absolutely great.